My One and Only
by Deyanira McFae
Summary: They were all conected. They should have realized...but they didn't. Is it too late? Of course not! Where would the fun be in that? InuKag, MirSan
1. Mistaken Urge

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...I mean, can we say, "Duh?"

Author's Note:

1) I only do happy endings.

2) Please review! I don't want to continue if no one likes it, ya know?

3) I only do happy endings without Kikyou. Now onward!

Chapter 1: Mistaken Urge

Mist shrouded the dark forest in a gloomy light, weighing those hidden inside with a heavy burden of thoughts and hopes. For once, it was silent and still. The forest held its breath, as if it was waiting for something…

The form of a young woman lay prone in a campsite. A faint glow emitted from her closed palms, and pain creased her brow. Her sable hair was tangled from her frequent movements of discomfort. Her pallor worried the six figures around her.

Sango fidgeted nervously with Kilala's tail, highly agitated at Kagome's worsening condition. "This isn't fair to her! We finally manage to get the rest of the shards from Naraku and – and –" Sango lost her speech as she gazed at the near lifeless face of Kagome.

Miroku, for _once_ being a complete gentleman, placed his hand over Sango's in comfort. "Kagome will be fine. She is just exhausted from having to use all of her energy day after day to cleanse the Jewel of Four Souls. You heard Myouga. The Jewel shards had been under the power of Naraku for too long. The battle within the Jewel had almost been completely won by evil. Kagome's subconscious has been in the Jewel, fighting that battle with her purification powers. For her to even be alive still ..."

Miroku's eyes widened in horror as he realized his words of comfort had the opposite affect on Sango, and that she had began to sniffle quietly.

"I'm okay, Sango."

All was silent for a moment, before everyone once again crowded around Kagome. Inuyasha jumped out of a nearby tree faster that an eye could see and reached her side first. Everyone besides Kagome shifted instinctively away from Inuyasha. The past week had left one and all fearful of the deadly Inuyasha. Dark demon energy radiated from him and there was constantly a formidable glare of cruelty in his eyes ever since the day the group had battled with Naraku. That day (though no one mentioned it or even spoke to the fearsome Inuyasha), Kikyo had finally died at the hands of Naraku. Ever since, Inuyasha had been unapproachable.

Shippo speedily made his way to Kagome's other side. "Kagome! Kagome? What –"

Inuyasha glared, bonked Shippo on the head, and cut him off with a low growl. "Let her be!"

Not one to be easily intimidated, Shippo pouted and glared back at Inuyasha. "Hey! I just wanted to –"

Kagome's mouth tilted up slightly at the corners. She was nearly paralyzed in her exhaustion, and her voice was barely above a whisper. "I am so glad to be back here with all of you. Are you all okay?"

Inuyasha switched his glare to Kagome, silently assessing her form to see if she was okay. He had been covering his panic and worry over her with anger for the past week. He had been extremely worried. However, Inuyasha would never admit that, not even to himself. "Feh. Don't be stupid. Stop worrying about everyone else first. You're not in a good condition, so be selfish for once."

Kagome's tender eyes opened slightly, meeting Inuyasha's glare and softening it. "You all were still injured when I began to purify the jewel. Are _you_ okay, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha broke his gaze away, mumbling a few choice expletives beneath his breath. A dull shade of red tinted his cheeks.

Sango, happier now that Kagome had regained consciousness, addressed everyone in a calm manner, "I am glad everything is back to normal. Is anyone hungry? You really need to eat, Kagome."

"I can't," spoke Kagome. "I may have helped recover the power of good in the jewel, but it is still separated and weak. I need to mend the shards of the jewel or else our world will bear the consequences."

Kagome was falling unconscious again, and it seemed she had no notion that she was speaking these words.

For the first time, Sango's brother Kohaku spoke up. He had been rescued from Naraku during the final battle. "How so?"

But Kagome never answered, because before she could, the Jewel pulsed once between her hands. She was once again unconscious.

**A few hours later…**

Inuyasha rocked back and forth at Kagome's side. He had been rocking back and forth ever since he had sniffed the wind and found a most disturbing scent. Whatever it meant, he refused to leave Kagome's side.

Sango glanced over at Inuyasha for the hundredth time. Everyone else was wondering the exact thing she was! So what if she was the only one brave enough to ask? "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha didn't bother answering.

Miroku decided to lend his support to Sango. "Yes. What_ is_ wrong, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha simply growled. "Feh! Nothing."

Miroku shook his head silently, but Sango did not give up. "What?"

Inuyasha finally just answered. "What? It's nothing. Kikyou's scent of blood is just on the wind is all. It's not like it matters anyway. I can't leave Kagome."

Sango just stared at him, dumbfounded. "But – Inuyasha, that can't be right. Kikyou is dead."

Inuyasha's brow furrowed with worry. "I know. That's what I thought too ..."

No one said a word. Suddenly, Kagome's hand shot out and gripped Inuyasha's arm. Everyone jumped, and Shippo even shrieked at the sudden movement from the previously unconscious girl.

Kagome's eyes snapped open and burned with some inner strength. "Inuyasha…If you smell Kikyou's blood, then she is alive and injured. She needs your help ... You have to go to her ...

Inuyasha glared at her and placed her hand back on the Jewel. "Don't be an idiot. I have to stay here and protect you. You shouldn't be awake anyway!"

Kagome bravely retained eye contact with Inuyasha. "You have to go. I am safe with Sango and Miroku to protect me. Kikyou has no one. I couldn't - just could never imagine having no one. You have to go to her ... now ..."

Inuyasha's face twisted into a mask of confusion. His voice softened so only Kagome could hear. "I have to be with you to protect you. I – I couldn't bear for anything to happen to you ..."

Kagome smiled warmly at Inuyasha. "I like you too, Inuyasha. I will be here when you return ... I always will be."

For countless minutes their gazes raged a silent battle, until Inuyasha finally glanced away uncomfortably. "Feh! I will be back soon ... Be careful."

Then he was gone.

And all anyone could do is watch pityingly as a single tear ran down Kagome's cheek.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Ya like? Review and I will answer any questions. -


	2. Alone

Chapter 2: Alone

The natural sounds of the forest permeated the surrounding area as the wind whispered words seldom understood by humans or demons alike. If the small entourage in the forest clearing had only sought the truth of these warnings, they might have been able to prevent the tragedy to come. However, fate was not so kind.

No member of this small group was sleeping even though that was the normal activity at such an early hour in the morning. All were quiet. The flickering flames of the fire illuminated their solemn profiles. Shippo, usually happy and optimistic in his naivety, rocked back ad forth methodically next to the prone form of Kagome. Miroku's restless mind was reflected in his unfocused gaze as he stared sightlessly into the roaring flames. Sango sat next to her brother Kohaku with Kilala cuddled between them, the three silently giving each other comfort. They did not even notice when the song of the wind suddenly ceased.

All it took was a few seconds for it to happen.

The campsite fire, the only source of warmth, was mysteriously extinguished. Kohaku's body immediately went rigid, and he suddenly dashed into the dark and foreboding woods.

"Kohaku!" Sango shouted for his return. Unable to release the brother so recently returned to her, she followed him from the campsite with Kilala at her side.

Panic filled Miroku as he watched Sango's form fade in the slight glow of the moonlight. He barely noted his heart-stopping fear of losing her before he found himself trailing after her.

"Wait!" Shippo shouted from Kagome's side. His eyes went round with unparalleled shock as a familiar voice returned his call, pleading for help in a pain-filled voice.

It was his father.

Even though Shippo knew this must be impossible, hope filled his young and impressionable heart. Without even realizing it, his feet carried him away from the clearing and toward the beloved voice.

As Shippo's footsteps faded, a sinister shadow fell across the unconscious Kagome.

The violet glow of the jewel flashed briefly in response to this new danger, and Kagome's fearful brown eyes snapped open to clash with a glaring red.

"Naraku!"

End of Chapter 2

Author's note: Was that expected? Too short? Tune in next time to find out what that evil bugger wants from Kagome! -


	3. Trapped

Chapter 3: Trapped

"You're supposed to be dead!"

Kagome shivered as the cool night air chilled her skin. Ice traveled down her spine as fear froze her limbs.

Naraku's mouth barely moved as he spoke, "Are you afraid? You should be."

He was silent, allowing Kagome's exhausted mind to chaotically turn over this new development.

Impatient, Naraku explained, "I would never allow myself to be killed. Is it not obvious that this is just a trap you gullible fools all too easily fell into? Here I am, and here you are, alone. All your friends have abandoned you—"

"Tell me what you've done to them!" Kagome shouted, her fear for her friends completely overwhelming her fearover her own welfare.

Naraku gracefully knelt and tightly clutched Kagome's skull by her thick black hair, making her whimper in pain. He sneered, "You humans are pathetic. Here you lie at the whim of my nonexistent mercy, and your first thought is of the very people that abandoned you in your time of need? And you call these people friends! There is no such thing."

Kagome found strength deep insider herself, where few would ever be forced to look. "That's not true! One as evil as you are could never understand. Now tell me what you did to them!"

Naraku's eyes narrowed into two glittering blood-red orbs. He then tightened his grasp on Kagome and threw her weakened body into a nearby tree. Her ear-splitting screech tore through the night air the moment that the sickening crack of bone filled the clearing.

"You want to know? Do you? The fox kit, the one you treat as your own son, abandoned you for an illusion. That idiotic demon slayer believed her brother, who was still under my control, was worth more than your safety. The monk, ignorant of his ridiculous fondness forsaid girl, joined her in forsaking you. And Inuyasha, your beloved hanyou, you know what happened to him, don't you? He abandoned you all too quickly."

Kagome, her chest heaving in her pain, turned her face away from Naraku for the first time. "You're despicable."

Naraku ignored her. "Even now he is most likely gently cradling that miko I injured to his chest, asking the one he loves—"

"Stop it!" Kagome shouted as the jewel clutched in her sweaty palm pulsed anew. Although the pain of her body was great, the one in her heart was unbearable.

Naraku approached Kagome and with his great strength ripped his fingers into her shoulders to throw her across the clearing once again. The brutal scent of Kagome's blood filled the air and her multiple pains brought her to the edge of oblivion. Naraku shook her awake, "Kikyou is the original. You didn't actually think he could ever love you, the second-rate substitute, did you?"

Kagome's head moved back and forth slightly in her denial. Her wounds caused her words to be barely audible, "No…It is enough just to see Inuyasha happy."

Naraku sneered again, "You really are pathetic. Do you even realize what I am here for?"

Wariness filled Kagome's fading mind. "What did you want, Naraku?"

He smiled in an evil ecstasy. "Can't you feel it? You're very soul is so deeply imbedded within the jewel of four souls that every pain you feel, whether emotional or physical, becomes a part of the jewel. I was unable to taint the shikon no tama to the extent that I wished. However, with your ability to connect to the jewel itself, you can further the taint of the jewel even beyond my expectations. You will be the instrument of my cause."

Kagome finally realized the full implications of Naraku's presence. "I won't let you!"

"Do you think I care what you think?" Naraku questioned with a menacing calm. "You are weak, trapped, and completely under my control. When I kill you the jewel connected to you will absorb the evil and become what I have always longed for: the most potent force of evil at my bidding."

As Naraku approached Kagome to make his final blow, Kagome's eyes filled with an inhuman determination. With her last breath she whispered, "I will protect the ones I love."

With those words, the soft violet glow of the shikon no tama separated into four distinct, purified fragments that filled the night with a virulent storm of light.

And then there was darkness.

> > > > > > > > > > > > >

In another part of the forest, Inuyasha came upon the wounded form of Kikyou just as he caught sight of the violet spectacle. Wary, he scented the air for danger and found something more horrifying than he had ever known.

It was the stench of Kagome's blood.

Completely disregarding the pleading bleats of Kikyou, the hanyou hurried with all due haste back to the campsite. Terror pulsed through his blood and his mind shouted for the cause in a continuous litany of panic. He reached the clearing.

"Kagome!"

End of Chapter 3

Author's note: Did you all like the new chapter? The ones after this become longer now that I got the basis for the real story out. Review for more!


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